Support the Climate9 : Climate 9

Support the Climate9

This was of the most important environmental court cases in Scottish history, but the Climate9 still need all the support they can get to make a case for the urgent need for climate change action.

The public campaign surrounding the trial is an extension of the action at Aberdeen Airport. It is a way for all of us to get the links between aviation expansion and climate change firmly into the public sphere. It is also an opportunity to get much wider issues on the agenda and generally raise the level of activity in the area. It is crucial then, that we mount a spectacular, inspirational and innovative public campaign and to do this we need to mobilise.

There are many ways to help and we will REALLY appreciate anything you are able to do.

First and foremost, please send us a statement of support from yourself or your organisation using this form

You can see some of the statements we have already received on the right of this page.

1. Be on the Climate9 Defence Committee:

Plane Stupid protest at the Scottish parliament

The defence committee is a steering group of key supporters who have expertise in environmental legal defense, media work, climate change issues, the threat of climate change for the UK or are otherwise able to support the co-defendants on paper and in the media.

Having this high profile support helped to build the profile of the trial and generated increasing recognition. The defence committee will speak to or be named in the press and push the main messages of support forward.

If you are interested in being on the defence committee please email info@climate9.com

2. Organising Events

We need people to organise events in the run up to the appeal and the launch of our exciting new resources (books and documentary film). Any event is worthy of consideration, such as speaker events, public meetings about climate change workshops, skill share events or even climate or aviation related action. For more event ideas see the website and remember, Climate9 press will assist in publicising events.

For meetings we recommend the tried and tested process, taken from the climate camp website

If you can help with an event, have an idea for the public campaign or if you can arrange for a defendant or supporter to come to an existing event, please contact Dan on 07717811747 or dan@climate9.com

3. Burst the Net!!

Blogs and social networking sites are really easy ways to get involved in climate defence. Use Facebook, Twitter and Myspace to communicate, organise events around the appeal, round up court support and arrange inspirational activities. If you have a blog, then great! Start blogging and create a buzz around the climate9 trial. You can also help create support for the climate9 by simply adding a link to the climate9 site

4. Poster power

We have posters available, to be placed in spectacular locations in the run up to the appeal and resources launch date. If you can help, please visit the site, download the poster and send it to individuals and groups to print and distribute, or alternatively contact the climate9 defence coordinater ; Miriam Rose on 07535147478, or email info@climate9.com

5. Statements of support!!

Make sure your statement of support gets to us by contacting climatenine@gmail.com. You can direct support towards an individual climate 9 defendant, or to the group as a whole. You can contact a climate9 defendant directly by visiting www.climate9.com and looking up the individual’s climate9 email address.

6. Press Gang

We need tons of press and we need your help to get us favourable coverage. This means doing press releases, getting photographs, perhaps writing letters, or organising letter writing en masse, contacting journalists and generally building a supportive profile in the local and national press.

If you can help in any way with press contact Juliana on climatenine@gmail.com

7. Donate money

Can you help fund the public campaign? Accomodation, publicity material, travel costs for defendants, temporary office space and public events all rely on external funding.

We welcome donations. Or, why not put the fun into fundraising by holding your own event?

To donate money, share an idea for a fundraising event or to discuss finance issues, please contact:mark@climate9.com or use ‘donate’ the link on the right hand side of this page

8. Be part of the movement!

Email climatenine@gmail.com

Climate9 Appeal News: June 7th 2011 at Edinburgh High Court

FOR UPDATES SEE http://www.climate9.com/newsie/
June 7th 2011 at Edinburgh High Court

An appeal to better judgement

Today defendants Tilly Gifford and Dan Glass from the Climate 9 had their appeal heard at Edinburgh Appeal Court against the conviction they received last summer for Breach of the Peace.

The conviction related to a direct action taken in March 2009 where the Climate 9 shut down Aberdeen airport and directly stopped 107 tonnes of emissions from contributing to man-made climate change. They played golf in a cage on the taxiway to highlight the fact that the airport's expansion will serve to deliver Donald Trump's super-rich golfer pals to his contentious course at Balmedie Estate.

Following a two week long trial in August 2010, which was the first jury-led climate change trial in Scotland, all 9 defendants were convicted of Breach of the Peace for their role in the protest. Dan and Tilly made the decision to appeal against the conviction as they hold firm to the belief that the action they took was justified, proportionate and necessary in the face of catastrophic climate change.

Appellant Dan Glass said “the Scottish legal system defines breach of the peace as an activity "causing fear and alarm to the ordinary and reasonable person, and which threatens serious disturbance to the community. I can't think of a better way to describe climate change. Sometimes, we believe, the law must be challenged to protect our fundamental freedom of expression and to disrupt lawful activities that are harming the prospects of future generations. Furthermore it’s the role of as democracy to protect the voices of the minority aswell as the majority”

The appeal has reached its final stages after months of anticipation and against a backdro0p of severe climate change, as recent estimates suggest an unthinkable 4 degree temperature rise by 2080. During the 4 hour hearing this morning the court heard a strong case from the defence, who argued that the jury wasn’t given any sense of this grave context regarding both the importance and urgency of the protest.

Appellant Tilly Gifford said “The judge presented a choice to the jury between 'breach of peace' and 'freedom of expression' without any context. This is simply not good enough. The jury should be given the serious climate change context of the situation relating to the case, otherwise the inference is completely abstract from reality.”

The appeal verdict will be heard within the next 6 weeks in a final court hearing. A date is not yet set. If it is successful it will set an important precedent for future protest cases, through actively defending freedom of expression and supporting the legitimacy of the right to protest given the governments inaction to effectively tackle climate change. It would be the first legal case in Scotland to engage with the severity of climate change that we face and challenge the ‘business as usual’ attitude that the aviation industry is taking in its expansion plans.

Plane Stupid spokesperson Joe Ryle said “Aviation remains the fastest growing source of CO2 emissions in the UK and we cannot let this go unchallenged. However the heart of this debate is about our fundamental right to protest and whether we are prepared to tolerate greater disruption to business as usual in the face of climate change.”

Support the Climate9

Climate9 Appeal News: June 7th 2011 at Edinburgh High Court

Climate 9 in the news……..